


An Encyclopedia of Thedas

by enigmalea



Series: Thedas Unveiled [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: wiki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-01 23:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17876780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmalea/pseuds/enigmalea
Summary: This is a companion work to my storyNobody Expects The Dragon Age Inquisitionand is supposed to serve as a reference for the world the story takes place in. This is supposed to house more in-depth information about how the world diverges from canon and the impacts it has on the modern setting, details that may or may not be explicitly stated in the story.It also serves as a place for readers to ask questions about anything and everything that comprises the society of this version of Thedas. Updates and expansions to the Encyclopedia will be announced in the main story notes. :)





	1. The Basics

**Author's Note:**

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**What Happened During the Second Inquisition? Where were the companions? WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!?!?!**

Ellana Lavellan, First to the Dalish Clan Lavellan was sent to spy on the Conclave and report back to her Clan. As for the storyline, things pretty much follow canon up until Corypheus attacked Haven. Ellana became the Herald of Andraste and Solas saved her life by stabilizing the mark. She helped to stabilize the Hinterlands, freed some Inquisition soldiers in the Fallow Mire, sealed the rift in Crestwood, and avenged her scouts killed on the Storm Coast.

But that's where things get  _weird_.

First of all, the Inner Circle and advisors we know and love were different. Sure, the Inquisition was formed by the Right and Left Hands of Divine Justinia and their forces were commanded by a former Templar, but that wasn't Leliana, Cassandra, or Cullen. The companion positions were filled, mostly, by the "default" Inquisitors who were never made Inquisitor. For example, the Qunari Mercenary captain? A Vashoth warrior named Karaas Adaar. For those who did not have an equivalent Inquisitor, people close to the original companions filled in. "Who?" you ask. Well...

 

 

> _Cullen_ \- [Drass](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Drass) who managed not to give in to the Desire demon at Kinloch in this universe  
>  _Josephine_ \- Antoine Montilyet (without the elder Josephine, Antoine was the eldest of the Montilyet family, and he followed a similar path in life as our Josephine did)  
>  _Leliana_ \- Marian Hawke (the Champion of Kirkwall signed onto the Inquisition early in this universe. Having sided with the Chantry and condemned Anders' actions, the Rogue Hawke was recruited to protect Divine Justinia and serve as her spymaster)  
>  _Iron Bull_ \- Karaas Adaar  
>  _Blackwall/Thom Rainer_ \- Maxwell Trevelyan (Evelyn's younger brother, who apparently actually attempted to join the Wardens after he got into a bit of trouble; he never made it to his joining, although he swore to his sister he had)  
>  _Cassandra_ \- Anthony Pentaghast (A dragon hunter who joined the Seekers when he watched his  _sister_ get murdered while trying to save his life from blood mages. The modern Cassandra is a direct descendant of Anthony and is named for his younger sister.)  
>  _Vivienne_ \- Evelyn Trevelyan (a mage sent to the Montsimmard Circle rather than Ostwick near her home)  
>  _Dorian_ \- Felix Alexius (without a Dorian present, Felix was bolder in opposition to his father; he still succumbed to the Blight shortly after they made it to Skyhold)  
>  _Sera_ \- Mahanon Lavellan (Ellana's best friend from her Clan. He joined the Inquisition after the Clan settled in Wycome; he was displeased not living in the forest and being able to hunt regularly)  
>  _Varric_ \- Edric Cadash  
>  _Cole_ \- Cole (Solas is unsure if the Cole in the modern era is the same Cole, as the Spirit doesn't seem to remember the events of the Second Inquisition. However, he is the same.)

 

Shortly after recruiting the rebel mages in Redcliffe, Ellana succeeded in closing the Breach, evoking the wrath of Corypheus. Corypheus led the assault on Haven with a group of Red Templars - which went the same as canon, except for the final confrontation. After watching Corypheus monologue and pontificate, Ellana used his momentary distraction in the moments before the avalanche hit to grab the orb from his hand and escape.

However, back to canon, we go. The Inquisition freed some people in Emprise, stopped the rising undead in the Exalted Plains, and met up with Marian Hawke's Warden friend Stroud. They stopped a blood ritual in the Western Approach and took Griffon Wing Keep. It wasn't until the attack on Adamant that we diverged from canon again. 

With the orb now in the Inquisition's possession, Solas gave up on claiming the Anchor for himself after the Inquisitor fell physically into the Fade at Adamant Fortress. After much consideration, he confessed both his feelings for her and the orb's true origins revealing himself as Fen'Harel. The Inquisition was resistant to the idea of destroying the Veil at first but was soon convinced to see it as a logical (albeit desperate) way to deal with Corypheus and an end to many of Thedas' problems, even if the number of lives sacrificed was large.

The Inquisition reached out to the leaders of the countries of Thedas, encouraging them to gather as many people to large areas as they could. They sent mages trained to help with shielding to the areas of Orlais, Fereldan, The Free Marches, The Anderfels, Nevarra, Antiva, and Rivain which heeded their warnings. The Tevinter Imperium and Par Vollen ignored them. With the rebel mages and Fen'Harel at her side in Skyhold, Ellana Lavellan used the Anchor to tear down the Veil. The world erupted into chaos.

* * *

 

**What changed with the Veil coming down?**

Many people outside of the shielded areas died immediately, unable to survive the sudden joining of the magical and physical worlds. Dwarves took the lowest loss of life due to their magical resistance; Qunari, for some unknown reason, took the largest. No species was completely decimated. 

All elves instantly gained the ability to do magic - which was both good and bad. Those who were not trained could only perform low-level spells, a lot of it unintentional and almost useless in battle. All mages who survived (which was far more than non-magical folks) received an instant power boost, suddenly able to perform stronger magic than ever before with nearly unlimited sources of mana. Without the Veil in their way, mages no longer had to reach through the Veil to summon magical energy; it was simply there, available for use.

Spirits erupted into the physical world which caused panic and terror. Some Spirits fed on this negative energy becoming demons and it took months for the Inquisition, Wardens, and Thedas' armies to rid the world of these demons. Thankfully, after the initial fall of the Veil, corrupted spirits became less common, and mage possessions and abominations became extremely rare as Spirits were able to fulfill their actual purposes without having to fight through the Veil to do so.

Areas of Elvhenan (such as Vir Dirthara) became accessible again as parts of the Eluvian network which had been destroyed suddenly reopened. These shattered began to heal themselves to some extent - others needed magical assistance to fully reform.

Some elves became immortal and some did not, though no one is really sure what impacted this. Mages and non-mages were equally likely to gain immortality; it seemed to be complete and total luck of the draw.

Although it is not understood why Blights have come less frequently and with much less success now that the Veil is gone. 

As for Ellana - with no Veil, there was no anchor, and her mark faded away, thereby minimizing some of the damage done to her. Unlike canon, she managed to keep both arms. However, because of the mark, she was unable to gain immortality from the Veil falling. In addition, the mark also decreased her lifespan drastically, and she died in her forties, just 20 years after the Veil came down.

* * *

 

**Okay, but what about Corypheus?**

Enraged at not succeeding in claiming the orb's power for his own and becoming a God, Corypheus desperately attempted to align himself with the Evanuris. Whether he believed he could become one of them or whether he believed he could somehow control them is unclear. However, in response to his rather laughable attempt to win them over, the Evanuris slaughtered the Blighted monstrosity of a shemlen without hesitation, and turned their sights on re-conquering Thedas and re-establishing Elvhenan.

* * *

 

**Well, Shit: An Overview of the Evanurian War**

Initially, the Evanuris turned their sights solely on Solas and the Inquisition, believing he was the only one who could defeat them. They returned to their temples, trying to awaken as many Sentinels and servants as they could. Try as they might, they could not amass the armies of old... but they found it didn't matter. Though the Inquisition had the numbers advantage, they still did not have the power advantage. In battle after battle, the Inquisition was turned back, and finally, the Evanuris decided the force was weak enough they could begin to reconquer Thedas. They started first with the Free Marches and were able to dig in there, and even (much to everyone's horror) were able to begin recruiting mortals to their side - elves, dwarves, shemlen, Qunari... at this point, the Evanuris accepted everyone.

The Inquisition also began amassing their forces again; using Antoine's contacts, they managed to earn the support of Fereldan, Antiva, Nevarra, and Rivain. Orlais was still embroiled in their Civil War, which had started up again nearly as soon as the Veil had fallen, and neither Gaspard, Briala, nor Celeste would back down. With Antoine's help, Ellana managed to convince them to set aside their pettiness, come to a truce, and pledge all of their resources to the Inquisition. It took every diplomatic bone in her body (and no small amount of blackmail) to accomplish it. 

With the numbers now in their favor, the Inquisition managed to win a few battles against the Evanuris on several fronts, but as the ancient mages themselves were nearly impossible to kill, it was no consolation. The battles and fighting waxed and waned (with both sides taking casualties) for nearly three years. The outlook was bleak.

The first sign of a turning point was when the Inquisition received a message from Par Vollen, stating that The Triumvirate wanted the Inquisition to help them broker peace with the Tevinter Imperium for the duration of the war against the Evanuris and in exchange, they would pledge the assistance of the Antaam. It took the Inquisition nearly six months to broker the tentative peace and the First Qunari-Tevinter Peace Treaty was signed.

With the majority of Thedas working against them, the Inquisition was able to dig in and begin holding against the Evanuris. Ellana and Solas called a meeting of the magical minds at Skyhold, inviting Avvar augurs, Orlesian Scholars, Grey Warden Mages, Circle-taught Mages, and Tevinter Mages all into the stronghold. For days they debated and tossed around theories at how to kill the Evanuris, until finally, one of the augurs asked a passing spirit of Knowledge for help. The spirit pointed at the orb of Fen'Harel sitting on the table and plainly said: "that is the key to their destruction."

It took Solas another month to perfect casting the localized Veil, but when he did, the Inquisition rode against Dirth'amen. He was the first of the Evanuris to fall, and the tide of the war changed. It took another two years for the people of Thedas to destroy all of the Evanuris, and it took decades for reconstruction to be completed.


	2. Governments and the Economy

Government | Economy

### Government

Central Thedosian Government | States

#### Central Thedosian Government

The Central Thedosian Government was established 15 years AFV (After the Fall of the Veil) and consists of only two branches of government: legislative and judicial. The government does not regulate a single military force. Its purpose is mainly to regulate fair treatment of various races and classes across the states (to ensure that all Thedosian citizens have access to the same basic rights and freedoms), negotiate treaties and trade, and to ensure that large organizations (like the Chantry and the Grey Wardens) are not behaving beyond their scope.

The legislative branch is comprised of two houses - one is made up of the chief figures of the governing bodies of the states (the state determines who that is), the other is made of up directly elected representatives from roughly equally populated districts across the states. The districts ignore all boundaries and so a single representative may be charged with representing both Arlathan and Tevinter citizens. Very few laws are passed at a central level in an effort to keep things as  _simplistic_ as possible.

The judicial branch exists to hear cases concerning abuses of power, to solve interstate commerce issues, and to deal with crimes committed in two or more states. The judicial branch also is responsible for handling issues of extradition.

The Central Thedosian Government is responsible for overseeing the central banking system and printing money. They are also responsible for maintaining the Eluvian network, since the massive structure exists across Thedas.

#### Thedosian States

There are currently 10 officially recognized states which are part of the Central Thedosian Government. An 11th State (the Kocari Wilds) has begun the process of petitioning for acceptance. The states are as follows:

  1. Arlathan
  2. Anderfels
  3. Free Marches
  4. Tevinter
  5. Ferelden
  6. Orlais
  7. Antiva
  8. Nevarra
  9. Rivain
  10. Par Vollen



Each state maintains its own separate government(s) with a wide variety of governments and economies represented. I plan to expand more on this for each state as I go. So check back for updates!

 

### Economy

Thedas' currency is backed by gold, silver, and bronze, which is still (usually) referred to as sovereigns, silvers, and bits in most locations. However, colloquially, many people still use the terms that are traditional for their area; for example, in Orlais many people still use the term "Royals", while in the Anderfels "Double Griffons" or "Doubles". The central government prints paper currency and creates coins from lesser valued metals, which could technically be exchanged for the appropriate weight of the metals they represent at banks.

Although debit and ATM card exist, culturally, they are rarely used. Thedosian society places high value on performing transactions in person and using actual cash. Most employers pay their employees electronically (through direct deposit) and the money is then withdrawn in person at the bank or using ATMs. Debit cards are used mostly when someone doesn't actually  _own_ the account they are accessing; for example, a business expense account (or, Fenina's expense account that is given to her by her scholarship). Internet commerce has been slow to grow because of this cultural phenomenon, although the idea of pre-ordering and then picking-up in person is becoming more popular since the Eluvian network is free and quick transportation all across Thedas.

 Credit cards and revolving lines of credit do not exist in Thedas as they are considered predatory. All credit is loan-based or (in the case of businesses) are considered investments in projects. Loan funds would be deposited directly into demand  (checking) accounts for the borrowers' use.


End file.
